Wishes on Eyelashes
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day four hundred and fifty-five: She'd dreamed of this moment for as long as she could remember, and now here they were...


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 21st cycle. Now cycle 22!_

_So in cycle 18 (days 358-378), for the one-year anniversary of Gleekathon, I did POV Swaps/Prequels/Sequels of favorite stories of mine from throughout the first year. However as I had to plan ahead, I had to cut off at a certain point, even though the year wasn't technically over. So I wanted to include the stories between the cut-off point and the start of cycle 18, so here we are. There will be six of them: 2 POV swaps, 2 prequels, 2 sequels :)  
**Today's story** is a Prequel to #333 "Go, Izzy, Go" a Sylvesters Series story originally posted September 19th 2010_

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**"Wishes on Eyelashes"  
(Sue &) Brittany & Joe  
Extra to the Sylvesters Series  
(Technically it's sandwiched between "Vigil For Joseph"/"What You Don't Know" and "Go, Izzy, Go") **

She'd stared at the man for a few seconds before the facts connected, and that this saying her grandfather Joseph was his father meant… At first she just smiled, remembering the pictures… he did look like… "You're my dad…" she spoke, still amazed to be standing across from him, really him, after all these years… And when he nodded, her hands flew to her mouth, so much to process at once for her mind… But then she thought, what if… She looked around… No sign of her mother, okay… She hadn't come to visit Joseph yet, but Brittany still strongly believed that she would come eventually, so what if 'eventually' arrived just in the middle of this moment?

But she wasn't there, not now, so Brittany looked back to the man, her father… Just thinking the words, it made her smile. It was stronger than herself, she'd wanted it for too long… She stepped right up to him and hugged him, put her arms around him. After a beat, as the gesture had surprised Joe, he wrapped his arms around her as well, one hand cradling the back of her head. It was everything she'd hoped for, and it was everything he'd never known he could have. In that instant, it didn't matter how long they'd known each other; she was his daughter and he was her father. The embrace lasted a good three minutes.

Once they pulled apart, it was hard to decide how to go on… What were they supposed to say? Brittany remembered something Mike had told her, when he was there with her. "Do you like mac 'n cheese?" Joe paused, but then laughed… She reminded him of Izzy.

"I do, actually."

"It's really good at the cafeteria, here," she told him with some excitement. That sealed it…

"My treat," he nodded.

"Your what?" Brittany blinked, and Joe just smiled.

"I'll pay," he explained, and now she smiled, anxious. After she'd informed Grandpa Joseph that she was going down to eat, she walked off with Joe. She wasn't sure why he hadn't gone to his father yet, but then she did know the two of them hadn't spoken in… years, even before she was born… So it was part of their secret; she could understand that, with her own secrets.

The walk to the cafeteria had been quiet, and it seemed they came to understand they didn't want to do small talk… They both had questions. With a bowl of the mac 'n cheese, which was as good as Mike had said, they sat across from one another, and eventually someone did speak.

"I asked my mom about you, because I found a picture of you," Brittany started, looking at him. Joe wasn't sure how to answer on that… "You didn't know about me?"

"I didn't," he promised. "I would have been there, I… I guess I can't blame your mother not coming to me when she was expecting you, with the way our relationship ended," he looked down.

"She did try," Brittany revealed, and he looked up. "Grandpa told me. She looked in the phonebook, but she found him instead of you…" Joe nodded… That explained it, he supposed.

"I saw her once, a few years ago," he told Brittany. "I think she tried to tell me." She looked surprised by this, maybe even disappointed… She could have known him years ago… "But you were okay, the two of you? Three of you, with my father," he amended after a moment.

"Yeah… They're my whole world. Oh, and Aunt Jean, but she doesn't know."

"Doesn't know what?" Joe asked, smiling.

"That she's my aunt," Brittany shrugged, taking a bite. Joe frowned.

"How does she not know?"

"Oh, a lot of people don't know… No one does, just Mom, and Grandpa, and Santana…" she nodded. "And now you," she smiled. Joe went over the fact he didn't know who this 'Santana' was and moved to the other, more important question.

"No one knows…" he started, and she shook her head. "B… how?" she shrugged. "Why?"

"Why don't I know how?" she asked, unsure.

"No… Why don't they know? Your uniform, that's William McKinley High School, right? But she works there, I saw… I saw her on TV," he went on. "Don't they realize, two Sylvesters in there, what are the odds unless you're related?"

"Well I have two names," she explained, starting to feel confused and cornered by all the questions, the facts.

"Two names?" he repeated, and again she had to elaborate.

"My first one is Brittany Jean Sylvester, but that's only at home, at doctors, or when Mom's mad. Everywhere else, at school, I have my second name, Brittany Susan Pierce," she nodded. His face was warmer somehow, at hearing the name, his last name… "She said she made my other middle name Susan so that… no matter what… I know she's with me," she smiled, but then looked embarrassed. "Except… I get confused, and I forget which is which…" He managed to catch her eye, wanting to get her looking back.

"You have no idea why you do it, do you? Why no one knows about you?" he asked, getting it now.

"Not really, no," she shook her head.

"So if I… If we would start getting to know one another, would that be alright with her? And with you, of course…" he nodded.

"I'd love it," she smiled warmly. But on the other part… "I don't think she should know," she shook her head. "She's very… kind of… I don't think she should know," she simply repeated, unable to say otherwise.

"Right, well… If that's what you think is right, then I'll back you up… But she'll need to know later," he pointed out. She looked concerned by this, but she nodded. "Let's not worry about that for now," he suggested and she smiled again… that Pierce smile.

THE END

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**A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
****In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
****always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!**


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